On Wed, 31 Aug 2005 16:00:57 GMT, (Speechless)
wrote:


Since I, myself, am about to spend some $$$$ on welding machines, I
decided to dig further. Miller is owned by ITW, so I dug around on
their web site and found this:
http://www.itw.com/80_20/about_80_20.html

"The concept underlying 80/20 is simple: 80 percent of a business'
sales are derived from the 20 percent of its product offering being
sold to key customers.

Put simply, too often companies do not spend enough time on the
critical 20 percent of their key customers and products and spend too
much time on the less important 80 percent."

Translated into layman's terms, it looks like their official policy is
to screw 80% of their customers and service the other 20%.

Ah, but their customer is not the end user. Their customer is the
dealer. So maybe unless you are a multiple location chain, you don't
get the support/parts/inventory you need to be enthusiastic about
Miller or Hobart.

Good research.


I don't think you want to purchase a Hobart machine either. According
to this web page: http://www.hobartwelders.com/termsofuse.html

"Welcome to the web site operated by Hobart Welders ("Hobart
Welders"), manufactured by Miller Electric Mfg Co., a subsidiary of
Illinois Tool Works (ITW)."

And this web page:
http://www.hobartwelders.com/privacypolicy.html

"6. How You Can Contact Hobart Welders

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about this Privacy
Policy, or the information practices of this Web Site, please contact
us at:

Hobart Welders
c/o Miller Electric Mfg Co
PO Box 1079 Appleton, WI 54912"

Yep, looks like you'd be talking to the same guy for service on a
Hobart machine that you've just had a conversation with about your
Miller machine. ITW, with their 80/20 policy, goes laughing to the
bank, whether you purchase a Miller or a Hobart.


The reply from Miller also leads me to believe that the discussion I had
with the counter person and manager about why I purchased it elsewhere may
have helped my cause somewhat. The service record for the welder
apparently shows the shop had ordered a part yesterday, so they didn't
wait a week to look at it after all. Either the discussion helped, or
the tech was extremely bored.